The Anambra State Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, NYCN, Surveyor Amb. Obi Emeka Chukwudi believes Anambra State needs the frugality and financial prudence of Governor Chukwuma Soludo, considering its present fiscal condition.
Surveyor Obi made the position clear on Tuesday, in Awka, the State Capital, while fielding questions from journalists on the affairs in the state.
The Anambra youths leader is of the opinion that inception of the Soludo administration has birthed many strategic policies that have aided the ailing economy the governor inherited when he assumed office.
He said that having met a near-empty treasure, Governor Soludo has carefully navigated the state through the very difficult seasons, with intentional policies that did not worsen the state’s economic problems, but alleviated them.
One of such policies, Obi noted, was his decision to leverage the internally-gerated revenue of the state, to carry out projects in the state.
“The governor initiated foundational steps such as taxes and levies to grow government revenue, which of course, are very difficult to drive, especially with the people’s level of understanding concerning taxes and levies.
“Soludo began with consultations to get the people’s buy-in into the need to envision a post-oil economy independent of oil revenue, considering the decline in global oil fortunes.
”This tax drive was well developed that it did not overburden people already in the government tax net, but focused more on getting the majority of the population from the informal sector, who have hitherto, evaded tax,” he noted.
Obi expressed delight that today, the State has significantly increased its Internally-Generated Revenue, IGR, due to the governor’s prudence and tact in managing public resources.
According to him, the numerous projects going on in terms of infrastructure bear eloquent testimony to the fact that the governor has successfully steered the state out of the murky waters of economic recession.
“We see today, various road projects ongoing without the state borrowing.
“In the education and health sectors, we have seen the governor announce free education and free antenatal and delivery services respectively.
“We have also seen the governor dole out over a billion naira in support of mission schools as well as massive recruitment of teachers and health workers.
“These simply tell you that Anambra is becoming economically viable again, as against the dire situation the governor inherited,” Obi maintained.
He also took time to applaud the initiative of the governor towards youth empowerment, insisting that with what he is doing, more youths will have no reason in future to venture into crime.
“This is what we have been clamouring for- for government to recognize the potential of youths and make significant investments towards their wellbeing.
“The 2 billion naira distributed to youths who learned various categories of businessess and skills, will be a game-changer in the near future, as Anambra will become a hub for enterpreneurship and commerce.
“We at the NYCN, do not take these efforts of the governor for granted and we have galvanized the youths across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state, to participate in government programmes targeted at improving their living conditions.
“Also, the NYCN under my watch has initiated many programmes including computer trainings, partnerships with hi-networth individuals to provide empowerment to our youths, sports development programmes, educational support initiatives and scholarships among numerous others.
“Overall, the target is to ensure a more virile, productive and useful youth population in the state,” he enthused.
The Anambra NYCN Chairman advocated continued support for the governor in the task of developing the state, insisting that government alone cannot effectively undertake the task of development.
